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Singapore Airlines apologises over Ukraine remarks

Postings on Facebook and Twitter from Singapore Airlines claimed that its flights do not fly across Ukrainian airspace

AP Singapore
Last Updated : Jul 20 2014 | 12:37 AM IST
Singapore Airlines apologised today over social media remarks it posted after the Malaysian jetliner was shot down that were taken by many as being insensitive.

After the Malaysia Airlines plane went down over Ukraine with 298 onboard Thursday, postings on Facebook and Twitter from Singapore Airlines claimed that its flights do not fly across Ukrainian airspace.

The remarks drew the ire of many Malaysians, with some taking to social media themselves.

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"A post starting with condolence (and) then, stating your planes are diverted and not using this airspace anymore would have made (you) sound less heartless!" Joannica Dass wrote on Facebook.

Others, however, felt many were overreacting to Singapore Airlines' remarks, and said the carrier was merely trying to get a message across to its customers.

"I don't think their comment was to advertise or boast their flight routes as much as it was to ease the tension of the hundreds of passengers that are scheduled to fly out to other countries over the next few days," Karishma Sharma wrote on Facebook.

Today, Singapore Airlines apologised and tried to clarify its remarks.

"We are aware of that our Facebook and Twitter update yesterday morning may have come across as insensitive to some.

The post was in response to many requests from our customers who had asked for information about our flight routes for their upcoming flights with us," Singapore Airlines said in an email to The Associated Press.

"We recognise that the information could have been better communicated and we sincerely apologise if it had offended our customers and anyone else in the online community," it said.

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First Published: Jul 19 2014 | 7:38 PM IST

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